One presentation was about the land market, which was on fire during San Antonio’s housing boom but now is seeing fewer transactions and falling prices. Part of the discussion involved some of the impact fees that home builders incur, largely because of government ordinances.

“All of these costs have a disproportionate impact on affordable housing,” said Joe Calvert, directof of land acquisition for Centex Corp.

He said a home can have $10,000 in fees, which means an extra $15,000 gets tacked on to the sale price to make the company’s margins. A large part of that is from tree mitigation.

Calvert recalled a 75-acre development along Interstate 10 toward Boerne. A feasibility study found $1.9 million in tree mitigation fees, or about $6,000 per lot.

“I like trees, but I’m not sure I like them that much,” Calvert said. “If you can, buy a corn field, it’s cheaper.”

Some of those other impact fees come from installing utilities and mandates for developments near Camp Bullis.

mysa admin

One Response

Oh, boo hoo. The reason for these ordinances isn’t to benefit the land-starving, clear-cutting developers. It’s to benefit the community and the environment. I’m glad we finally got our government to work on this one.

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